Carat vs. Karat

A lot of people confuse the terms "carat" and "karat" when shopping for jewelry.

  • Carat refers to a stone's weight.
  • Karat refers to the fineness of the gold that was used to make the piece of jewelry.

Carats and Points

There are two ways you will hear a jeweler refer to carat weight: carats and points. For example, a half-carat stone is equal to a .50 point stone; so you might hear a jeweler refer to this as a "50 pointer." Because of the term "point," most consumers mistakenly assume that it has to do with the facets or cut of the stone. In truth, "point" only refers to the carat weight itself.

So when you hear a jeweler says: "This is a beautiful 78 point stone," he means that the stone weighs .78, or roughly three-quarters of a carat. 1 carat is equal to 1.0 point.

Karat

Karat defines the amount of pure gold that is mixed into a piece of jewelry. There are three main criteria that are used on a regular basis in the United States: 10k, 14k, and 18k.

The standard for fineness in the United States is 14k, which is equal to 58.3 % pure gold. The other 41.7 is made up of different alloys that are added to the metal to give it strength and hardness. These alloys can vary depending on what esthetic effect is desired. For example, white gold is alloyed with nickel to give it its white appearance and, like yellow gold, white gold can be made in any karat desired. 10 karat has 41.7% pure gold; 18 karat is equal to 75% pure gold.

Bottom line: The higher the karat number, the more pure gold it has in it.

Cut

Most people don't understand how important cut is when it comes to diamonds. The cut refers to the actual proportions of the stone, and not its shape! A lot of times you will find what you believe to be an amazing deal on a diamond. You may see a 1.00 SI 1 G color carat advertised at what you think is a great price, and if you are lucky it will be. But the majority of the time the stone is going to have an inferior cut which ultimately makes it less valuable.

Cut is what gives a diamond its "fire" or sparkle. It is what's going to light up her face when she sees it for the first time! If you are going to sacrifice one area of a stone, make it something other than the cut.

An SI-2 H color with an ideal cut is going to look much more appealing than a SI-1 G color with a poor cut. Why? Because it's going to shine more!

Cut is not everything when it comes to diamonds, but the quality of the cut you choose will make a huge difference.